Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) Receives Buy Rating from Benchmark

Benchmark reiterated their buy rating on shares of Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) in a report issued on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $39.00 target price on the health services provider’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com raised Select Medical from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $34.80.

Select Medical Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of Select Medical stock opened at $32.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.38. Select Medical has a 52-week low of $21.28 and a 52-week high of $33.51. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.01.

Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The health services provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.05. Select Medical had a net margin of 3.97% and a return on equity of 18.11%. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.22 EPS. Select Medical’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Select Medical will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Select Medical Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. Select Medical’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.81%.

Insider Activity at Select Medical

In other Select Medical news, Chairman Robert A. Ortenzio sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.90, for a total value of $1,495,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 6,689,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $200,021,073.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 19.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Select Medical

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. increased its holdings in shares of Select Medical by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. now owns 10,760 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 814 shares during the last quarter. Sivik Global Healthcare LLC grew its holdings in shares of Select Medical by 30.0% during the 4th quarter. Sivik Global Healthcare LLC now owns 250,000 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $5,875,000 after purchasing an additional 57,657 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Select Medical by 337.9% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 63,783 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,499,000 after purchasing an additional 49,218 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Select Medical during the 3rd quarter valued at $852,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Select Medical by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,387,202 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $35,055,000 after purchasing an additional 43,776 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.48% of the company’s stock.

Select Medical Company Profile

Select Medical Holdings Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates critical illness recovery hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, outpatient rehabilitation clinics, and occupational health centers in the United States. It operates in four segments: Critical Illness Recovery Hospital, Rehabilitation Hospital, Outpatient Rehabilitation, and Concentra.